


A Place To Call Home

by breeisonfire



Series: Shutter 'verse [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pack Feels, Pre-Slash, lots of feels, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 14:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breeisonfire/pseuds/breeisonfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The pack looks for a new apartment for Derek. Somehow they end up taking over for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Place To Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, look at that, there's a fourth one now. I don't even know anymore.
> 
> Fair warning, I have no idea where on earth this is going, and am just writing as they come to me. I do plan on keeping this going until I run out of ideas, and there may be some multi-chapter stories in the future because I get random ideas out of nowhere and one of them is forming into a longer story.
> 
> Also, another fair warning. If you're reading this for the possibility of sex, you should know that I am really bad at writing sex and have no plans to do so in this story. This does not mean they won't have sex, just that I don't plan on writing it in detail.
> 
> Still unbeta'd. Thanks for reading all of my previous stories and thanks for checking this one out!

When Derek had gotten a text from Stiles asking if he was busy, he’d expected an invite to some sort of pack activity, like a movie night or lunch or something. Not this.

_This_ referred to the entire pack showing up at Derek’s door at seven in the morning. Derek stares, trying to determine what had caused this turn of events. It was Saturday morning. He’d been at the movie night. Everything was normal, though he’d been even quieter than normal. The few days before had been calm, even after the anniversary. There was nothing he could think of.

Since visual cues were out, he gives Scott a ‘what the hell?’ look, figuring the Alpha would explain. Scott, who was clearly not awake even though he was holding a coffee, shrugs and gestures at Stiles.

_Of course_. Derek turns his ‘what the hell?’ look to Stiles, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He seemed to be filled with more energy than should be humanly possible. Derek blames that on one of the two coffees in his hand.

“Hi!” Stiles says, handing one of the coffees to Derek. Derek blinks in surprise and sniffs at it. He looks at Stiles with a suspicious look, wondering how the hell he’d got Derek’s coffee order. Stiles just gives him an enigmatic smile and takes a drink of his own coffee.

Clearly he’s not going to get that out of Stiles and it’s too early for him to try to get into a battle of stubbornness, so he takes a drink and moves on.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“We -- okay, _I_ , Jesus, Lydia -- I have a suggestion for you,” Stiles says. Derek glances at Lydia, who is currently giving Stiles an icy cold glare, and hides his smile when he turns back to Stiles. He waits expectantly.

Stiles shifts his weight, apparently nervous, before blurting out, “I think you should get a new apartment.”

Derek raises an eyebrow. He opens his mouth to speak, but Stiles continues with barely even a pause.

“This one isn’t very homey, and we all have bad memories of being here, and it’s on the other side of town from the rest of us --.”

“Stiles,” Derek says.

“ -- And it’s creepy, none of us like, not even you like it --.”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek repeats loudly, and Stiles cuts himself off, looking at him apprehensively. Everyone is looking at him, even Isaac, who Derek had thought had fallen asleep against the wall he was leaning on.

Derek lets out a breath before he nods and says, “You’re right.”

It’s something he’s been thinking about for a while now. He can’t be in this apartment for long before memories of Boyd’s death, Jennifer’s betrayal, Cora’s near-death, or the Alpha pack start to haunt him, and he’s pretty sure that’s not good for him. He knows Stiles is right, and he agrees with him. The only reason he hasn’t is that he didn’t really know where to start. This loft had already been in the Hale name, although it had never been used, so he hadn’t really had to do any work to find an apartment, and it was embarrassing to admit that he didn’t know what he was doing.

Stiles is relaxing, and Isaac’s eyes are closed again. Scott plops down on a chair, looking slightly annoyed. Derek was trying his hardest not to laugh at the expression on his face. Even Lydia looks sleepy. Allison, who is clearly a morning person, looks about as amused as Derek feels, and offers him a bag of what Derek can smell are donuts.

“Why does this require everyone?” Derek asks as he takes a donut out of the bag with an appreciative nod. “And why this early?”

“I’ve heard when you got looking for an apartment, it’s better to have more than one opinion,” Stiles says as he reaches out for the bag and takes a donut for himself. “Besides, it’s likely we’re going to be there a lot. We might as well like it.”

Derek snorts around a mouthful of donut. He swallows and says, “So, you’re hijacking my apartment?”

“Damn straight,” Stiles doesn’t miss a beat.

“Fine,” Derek says. “But that doesn’t explain the early hour.”

“It’ll probably be a long process,” Stiles shrugs. Derek raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t bother to question it. If Stiles wants to be evasive, fine. Derek’s no good for arguments this early, anyway.

“So, what did you have in mind?” he asks, because knowing Stiles, he’s got the entire day mapped out, and probably already marked his favorite ones. It’s Stiles’ specialty.

“Well,” Stiles pulls off his backpack and pulls out a stack of papers. “These are a list of available apartments in Beacon Hills, narrowed down by location, neighbors, and convenience. I thought it would be better if it was closer to the rest of us, but still near the fire station and the woods. I also figured you wouldn’t want loud neighbors, or nosey neighbors, and you’d want an extra bedroom in case Cora comes. I don’t know what your financial situation is, so I put the apartments in order of cost, lowest to highest.”

Derek blinks. Stiles has put a lot of thought into this, more than Derek had been prepared for.

“What _is_ your financial situation?” Lydia asks curiously.

“I have a fair amount of money,” Derek says. “My parents put away a lot of it in case...And they all had life insurance. I gave half of it to Cora, and Peter has some, but there’s still a lot left.”

“Okay, so money isn’t an issue?” Stiles walks over to the table and puts down the papers. Derek follows, curious to see what Stiles has dug up. He has no doubt Stiles did a lot of research for this.

He’s not disappointed. Stiles has printed out floor plans, addresses, pictures, and facts for every apartment he considers suitable. He’s clearly got favorites, but Derek can tell he’s trying to be unbiased. Scott, Isaac, Lydia, and Allison all throw in their own opinions, and by the time they’ve eliminated most of the apartments, leaving five of them, it’s noon, and they decide to go out to lunch before going to see the last five apartments.

They end up going to the deli, and Derek gets treated to an “I told you so!” from Stiles when the staff lets it slip that he’s become a regular. He rolls his eyes and tries to pretend he doesn’t know Stiles. It doesn’t work.

They sit down and start to hash out a plan to seeing the last five apartments. Stiles thinks they should make sure it has a pool, while Allison thinks a weight room would be better. Lydia’s more focused on the kitchen than anything else, and Isaac seems to be of the opinion that if they see any small children they should leave immediately. Scott just wants the apartment to be closer to one of the other pack members. Derek’s starting to think he should just let them pick it out, since they all seem to know what they want. He’s not picky. He just wants a place that isn’t too quiet or too isolated. He tells them this, and Stiles adds it to the list he’s been making.

They decide to head to the one closest to the deli, and when they finish eating, they head to the complex. It’s nice, Derek thinks, but it’s way too posh for his taste. Stiles thinks it’s funny, but Lydia and Allison like it, and Scott shrugs when he’s asked his opinion. Isaac points out that there are little kids, making his opinion obvious, and they cross it off their list.

The second one turns out to be filled with elderly people, and Stiles, Scott, and Isaac laugh so hard they start crying when Lydia points out that this would make Derek popular. Allison’s fighting a smile, and Derek wonders why he thought a pack of teenagers was a good idea.

He vetoes that one, and they head to the third one. There’s a park with a lot of small children and Isaac refuses to get out of the vehicle. They leave him in the car as they go check it out. Lydia doesn’t like the kitchen, saying that even though he’s a bachelor, he needs to have a good kitchen, especially if he’s going to have the pack over, and although there’s a decent-sized gym, there’s no pool, and Derek’s left wanting to rip his hair out of his head in exasperation.

They go to the fourth one, and Derek likes it as soon as he sees the building. It’s a newer building, not very tall with maybe six floors, and each apartment has a balcony. There’s a pool, which means Stiles approves, and Scott points out that it’s only five minutes from both him and Stiles, so he’s content. Allison likes the gym, so they talk to the landlord and he allows to see one of the available apartments.

Derek again likes it as soon as he walks it. It’s open, bright, and airy, completely different from his loft. Lydia declares the kitchen to be perfect, and Stiles seconds her opinion. The youngest kid Isaac has found is at least ten, so he’s fine with it. Derek can hear the people above and below, and decides he’s all for it.

This means that Allison starts taking pictures, and Scott, Stiles, and Lydia all start asking the landlord questions, which he answers with a bright smile. They learn his name is Nate, and he’s very friendly and helpful. Derek puts that in the list of pros he’s making in his head, and thanks Nate before they leave.

Even though they’re all pretty sure Derek wants this one, Stiles insists that they tour the fifth one, so they go to the next one. It’s nice, and meets all of their criteria, but Derek is attached the the one before it.

They up Thai and head to Scott’s house to discuss it a bit more. Melissa McCall comes home about twenty minutes into their debate, and joins in. She’s very helpful, because unlike the rest of them, she has experience in buying apartments, and advises Derek on what he needs and what he should do.

He gathers everything he needs that night, and when he gets up for the next day, he’s greeted by the entire pack again, though much later in the day. He’s already called Nate about the apartment, and Nate’s agreed to meet with him to discuss it. Derek doesn’t want to overwhelm the guy, so he makes everyone sit outside, where Scott and Isaac can hear what’s going on and Derek can hear them in case he needs some help.

Amazingly, he gets through the meeting without his social skills failing him, and Nate agrees to contact him in the next few days. Derek thanks him with a smile and leaves with a good feeling.

He’s bombarded with questions from Stiles, Lydia, and Allison when he comes out, because apparently Scott and Isaac hadn’t thought to tell the others what was going on, and he answers them the best he can over lunch. Then they have to split up, because everyone has prior obligations. Scott and Isaac are needed by Melissa, Stiles has to take lunch to his dad, Lydia’s parents want her at a party they’re having for whatever reason (Lydia was not particularly enthusiastic about it), Allison and her dad are having a family night, and Derek has to head to the station.

They’re called to a pretty big fire around eight in the evening and it takes most of the night to put it out. Everyone survives with minor injuries, but arson is suspected, so Sheriff Stilinski shows up. He exchanges a friendly nod with Derek before heading off to investigate. Derek and the other firefighters head back to the station at two in the morning, and Derek’s allowed to go home. He’s too tired to think about the apartment and is asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

The next day is calm, and Derek spends it at the library, unable to stand his loft at the moment. He’s brushing up on his Shakespeare, because apparently the pack is reading Hamlet in class, and he hasn’t read that for a while. He’d forgot how much he likes reading, especially in libraries, and resolves to start going more often.

Tuesday is spent at the station. Derek decides to get EMT training, and spends most of the day asking around about that. Most of the others have been through it, and give him pointers. He decides to take the course at the local community college, and spends most of the night when he gets home filling out the application.

It’s not until Wednesday night he hears from Nate. He’s just getting home from the station when his phone starts ringing, and he answers it without getting out of the car.

“Hello?” he says.

“Is this Derek Hale?” he recognizes Nate’s voice immediately and sits up straight.

“Yes,” Derek says, keeping his voice even.

“This is Nate Hartman, at the Pinewood apartments,” Nate says. “Are you still wanting to rent an apartment?”

“Yes,” Derek says, trying not to grin.

“Then is it possible for you to come over tomorrow and sign the lease?” Nate asks, and Derek celebrates internally before pulling himself together.

“I can do that,” he says. “What time?”

They agree on ten in the morning, and Derek hangs up with a stupid grin on his face. He pulls out his phone and takes a picture, sending it to the pack with the text, “I sign the lease tomorrow.”

The responses come quick, all enthusiastic. Derek can’t pick if Stiles or Scott’s is his favorite. Stiles sends a video of himself jumping around enthusiastically, and Scott sends a picture of him striking a triumphant pose, one foot on his dining table.

Then Stiles sends a text message demanding details, and Derek tells them the plan. Stiles is annoyed that he scheduled it while they were in school, and Derek pretends he didn’t do that on purpose. He can’t tell over text if Stiles knows, but he’s pretty sure Scott and Lydia have both caught on.

So the next morning, Derek goes and signs the lease, and is handed the key to his new apartment. He spends the day mapping out what he wants to do and drawing it out, and when he meets the pack later at Stiles’ house, he shows them.

“Wow,” Stiles comments.

“I didn’t know you could draw,” Lydia’s bent over the paper, intently studying it. She looks at him, and he just shrugs.

“Any other hidden talents you’d like to tell us?” Stiles says. Derek gets the feeling he’s joking, but he decides to just go along with it.

“I play piano,” he says.

Stiles stares for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Okay. Cool.”

“I used to the play the piano,” Lydia says. “I hated it. My parents thought it would look good if I played it, but I didn’t want to.”

“I play guitar,” Scott says. “Stiles is a pretty good drummer.”

Derek raises an eyebrow at Stiles, because he hadn’t known either of those. Stiles grins.

“Well, I have no musical ability whatsoever,” Allison says.

Everyone looks at Isaac, who shrugs. “I used to sing a bit. Not so much anymore.”

“We could totally start a band,” Stiles says. Scott throws a pillow at his face.

“Anyway,” Derek says, fighting a smile. “I’m allowed to move in anytime I’d like, but I don’t have much furniture.”

“The Jeep has a trailer hitch,” Stiles says. “My dad has a trailer. We can use it to get whatever furniture there.”

“And somehow I think the weight of the stuff won’t be a problem,” Allison points out.

“When do you want to go shopping?” Lydia asks Derek. He shrugs.

“What’s your schedule?” Stiles asks. “We can make it work with everyone’s schedules.”

It becomes clear that nobody has time until Sunday unless they give up the movie night, which none of them want to do. So what ends up happening is Scott, Isaac, and Stiles come help him move his bed while the girls go out and buy him food and any other essentials. They get to the apartment building and Scott and Isaac take the bed up while Derek and Stiles grab the other boxes he’d packed up in his spare time, and they get to work unpacking. The girls arrive with more groceries than Derek thinks is necessary, and all sorts of cooking utensils, pots, pans, bowls, plates, cups, and silverware. Stiles ends up cooking for everyone, and when they’re all sitting on the empty living room floor, Derek starts to feel like this could really be a home.

The pack leaves after dinner, since they had school the next day. Derek goes into his new room and looks around, feeling much more comfortable than he had in his loft. When he goes to bed, he sleeps better than he had since the night at Stiles’ house.

He spends his time off moving what he’s keeping to his new apartment and arranges for the stuff he’s not keeping to be sold or disposed of. He makes a list of things he needs to buy (a new couch, because Lydia has told him he’s not allowed to keep this one), things he’d meant to buy for the loft but never really got around to (bookshelves; lots of them), and things he wanted (a TV would be nice). He also gets a list of things the pack wants (Stiles thinks he needs a good dining table, which is true, Scott and Isaac are convinced he needs a good gaming system, and Allison is voting for an armory of sorts, although he’s pretty sure that wasn’t included in the lease agreement). When Friday comes and they get together for the movie night, Derek has to fend off other suggestions, such as a water bed, or a jacuzzi (at this point he doesn’t know if Stiles is just messing with him or not).

Saturday night is spent texting Stiles descriptions of what he wants in each room. They’ve decided putting Stiles in charge of the operation was a good idea, since he’s done the ost research and despite his tendency to ramble is actually the most organized out of them. He’s forced to send several links and pictures of what he wants, but finally Stiles says, “Got it!” and leaves him alone. Derek goes to bed slightly frustrated.

They’d planned to meet at Lydia’s the next morning at eight, so Derek drags himself out of bed at seven and gets ready quickly. He tidies up the things he’s already unpacked and then heads to Lydia’s house. He’s only been once before, back when Scott had first been bit, and it’s just as fancy as he remembers it being. He gets there at the same time as Stiles, who again has coffee and looks far too awake for the time it is.

“Hey,” Stiles says, handing him a coffee.

“Thanks,” Derek says, taking a drink. He’s pretty sure today is going to be a long day, and that he’s going to need more coffee before they finish, but he’s grateful for the help.

Once Scott and Isaac show up (Allison had spent the night), Stiles pulls three packets of paper out of his backpack and clears his throat. Derek wonders how much work Stiles put into this and waits for Stiles to begin talking.

“Okay,” Stiles says. “I pretty much split us into three pairs. Each pair has a certain part of the list to get, and it’s according to where your skills and abilities are. So no being offended. Lydia and Allison, you’re on the more decorative stuff, like towels, bean bags, rugs, coffee table, placemats, lamps, the works.”

Allison and Lydia nod, and Derek feels a sort of dread at the look in Lydia’s eyes. He’s not sure that’s a good idea, but he decides against saying anything. At least his apartment will look nice.

“Scott and Isaac,” Stiles moves on. “You two are on the heavier stuff, like the couch, bookshelves, the second bed, desks, and dressers. I’m gonna give you guys the Jeep and the trailer, be careful.”

Scott and Isaac both nod as well.

“Derek and I will be getting the things like TV, and the dining room table,” Stiles says. “My dad’s friend offered to let us borrow his truck, so we’ll need to go pick that up first. You’re all on your own for lunch. Try to be done by five, so we can get everything in and then have dinner there. I’ve given you each descriptions of what Derek wants, and if you find something you think he’d like, use Snapchat.”

With that, they split up. Derek drives to pick up the truck, and they drop his Camaro off back at his apartment. Then they go to the store Stiles had pointed out. Derek gets a cart, filled with an excited sort of anticipation. He’s still sure it’s going to be a long day, but they have a plan, and he’s excited to have actual furniture in his new apartment.

He argues with Stiles over the size of dining table he should get. Stiles manages to convince him to get one big enough for eight. He points out that Cora might want to visit, and the pack might want to have dinner with her, and Derek gives in. They find a nice table quickly, and Derek takes the tag and steers Stiles towards the TVs before he can change his mind.

They both agree that a bigger TV would be good, because the pack’s favorite activity is watching movies, and he gets a good DVD player. Then, because he doesn’t want to hear about it from Scott or Isaac, he buys an Xbox, and a Playstation 3, and Stiles helpfully points out their favorite games. Derek doesn’t know what to make of half of them (although he has to admit Grand Theft Auto V looks interesting).

Stiles tells him he needs to update his almost nonexistent DVD collection, so Derek lets him pick out movies for him to watch. Stiles makes him get the entirety of the _Harry Potter_ series, and then _Lord of the Rings_. Derek isn’t surprised by these, but then he sees _Easy A_ and _10 Things I Hate About You_ being added to his cart, and he raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t judge me,” Stiles says without even really looking at him. “They’re good movies. Stop with the eyebrows.”

Stiles adds a few more movies to the mix (Derek notices _Tangled_ in there and hides a grin) before allowing them to move over to kitchen appliances. Derek gets a toaster, and Stiles picks out a blender. They get a microwave, too, and then Derek heads over to the book section and picks up a few books before heading to pay. Stiles stops him when they’re passing the mugs and grabs one, bringing it over to Derek, grinning. It’s a black mug with just the word “No” in capital and bold white letters. Derek shakes his head but lets Stiles add it to the cart and they go and pay.

They decide to go through a drive-through and eat on the way to another store Stiles had found, where Stiles convinces Derek to get a good sound system to go with the TV stand. Derek also gets some new shirts and jeans while there, and then convinces Stiles to go to a bookstore. When done there, they head back to the apartment, even though they still have three hours until the others are supposed to be done. They start moving things in, and by the time Lydia and Allison arrive at four-thirty, everything is moved in and Stiles is hooking up the TV while Derek finishes putting the table together.

“I like it,” Lydia announces when Derek is finished and stands it upright. Derek freely admits that he does, too. It looks nice, and fits in the space allotted perfectly. Stiles smirks from where he’s programming the TV, but Derek ignores him.

Scott and Isaac arrive at five-ten, and they’ve got everything they’d set out to get. It takes some time to get it all out of the trailer and into the apartment, but they get it done fairly quickly, and Stiles is dispatched to pick up food while they start putting the other things together.

They focus on the living room first, setting down the ‘L’ shaped couch where Derek had indicated in his drawing earlier. It’s dark brown, and nice, and Derek likes the way it looks in the room. The coffee table is easy to put together, so Derek lets Scott put it together while he and Allison (who is unsurprisingly good with tools) put together the bookshelves. They’d got two big bookshelves, and it takes them a while to put them together. Meanwhile, Lydia is hanging up curtains, and Isaac is setting up the new kitchen appliances.

Stiles gets back with food just as Derek and Allison both finish their bookshelves, and Scott and Isaac help them set them upright. They eat at the table for the first time, which Stiles makes them celebrate by applauding, and make a game plan for the bedrooms.

They decide that Allison will take Isaac and Scott and put together the second bedroom while Derek, Stiles, and Lydia work on Derek’s room. It takes longer than expected, but eventually the dressers and desks are put together, and Derek is left organizing his room the way he wants it while Stiles and Lydia take his books out to the shelves and start putting them away.

When he comes out to the living room, Stiles and Lydia are reading his copy of _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ , which was given to him by Laura. She’d left notes in it and he’d never bothered to erase them, so they were still there, and he can tell that Stiles and Lydia have found them. When they notice him, they close the book quickly, and Stiles stammers out an apology, but Derek just waves his hand.

“She was better at understanding Shakespeare than I am,” he says. He knows they’re curious, and doesn’t blame them, but he doesn’t elaborate. Someday he’s sure he’ll tell them stories about Laura and the rest of his family, but he’s not ready yet.

They seem to sense that he’s not up for it, because they don’t push it, and instead go back to organizing the books. Derek joins them before Lydia starts putting lamps up and laying out the rug that she and Allison had found. Derek’s surprised by how much he likes it, although he doesn’t think he should be.

It’s almost eleven before they’re finally done, and they all take a moment to step back and admire their handiwork. The apartment looks good. It looks like a real home, much more than loft ever had, and Derek’s overwhelmed for a moment by how glad he is to have a place like this to call home. He hasn’t had one since Laura died, but now he does, and he doesn’t know what to say.

It’s quiet for a couple of minutes before Allison yawns and Scott says, “We should probably go. We have school tomorrow.”

“Right,” Derek nods. They start gathering their stuff and Derek watches until he realizes he should probably thank them.

“Hey,” he says, and they stop to look at him. “Uh, thanks. For everything.”

Scott’s face breaks into a grin, and he nods. Stiles grins, too, and gives him a thumbs-up. Isaac smiles in acknowledgement, Allison nods, and Lydia says, “Of course.”

They all leave, and Derek goes to the balcony to watch them go. He sees Stiles getting into his dad’s friend’s truck, and Stiles turns to look up. He apparently spots Derek, because he waves dramatically. Derek waves back and watches him get into the truck and drive away.

He stands out on the balcony for a few more moments before heading back inside and pulling out his phone. He opens Snapchat and takes a picture of his new living room, sending it to Cora with the text, “Welcome to my new home.”

Cora responds a few moments later with a picture of her smiling that says, “Looks nice. Congrats.”

Derek smiles, looks around his new living room one more time, and turns off the light, heading to bed. He’s got work in the morning.


End file.
